Obama pushes for gun restrictions

In his most aggressive declaration yet to curb gun violence, President Obama announced Tuesday that he would back legislation to restore the ban on assault weapons, and require background checks of buyers at gun shows.

The president would also consider restrictions on high-capacity ammunition magazines, White House press secretary Jay Carney said. A similar type of magazine was used by 20-year-old Adam Lanza, who went on a shooting spree in Newtown, Conn., last week that left 20 children and six adults dead. He also killed his mother, before turning the gun on himself.

The mass killing thrust the debate over gun control into the national forefront, and has forced legislators across the country to reexamine their stance on the issue. The rampage has also shaken the gun industry, which saw customers flock into retail stores in advance of possible legislative action, and prompted some stores to pull firearms off their shelves. The National Rifle Association said Friday they would offer "meaningful contributions" to stem gun violence.

The announcement by the White House was welcomed by New Jersey advocates for stronger gun legislation, who said it’s a step toward meaningful change.

“These weapons are designed for the battlefield, and it makes no sense to let civilians have them,” said the Rev. Robert Moore, executive director of the Coalition for Peace Action, the umbrella organization for Ceasefire New Jersey. “We banned them once before, and sadly that ban expired.”

President Clinton approved a federal ban on assault weapons in 1994 that expired 10 years later.

“These are the most heinous, dangerous weapons,” Moore added. “We saw what they did in Connecticut last Friday, and its time we move forward and I’m very pleased with the president indicating his support for this common-sense step.”

On Tuesday, in a statement, The National Rifle Association of America said it would wait to comment out of respect for the families, and to give time for mourning, prayer, and a full investigation of the facts.

The association, which has up to 4 million members, said it was shocked, saddened and heartbroken by the killings in Newtown. It plans to hold a news conference in Washington, D.C., on Friday.

“The NRA is prepared to offer meaningful contributions to help make sure this never happens again,” the statement read.

Obama also talked with Sen. Joe Manchin, a West Virginia Democrat who this week became one of the first pro-gun-rights lawmakers to say that some restrictions on firearms should be discussed in response to the killings.

In New Jersey, U.S. Sen. Frank Lautenberg called on the Senate on Tuesday to immediately pass a ban on high-capacity ammunition magazines.

“This latest shooting tragedy was an unthinkable act of violence carried out against 20 innocent children and seven adults,” he said in a written statement. “As we reflect on this, and far too many other mass shootings, one lesson is clear: the Senate shouldn’t wait another day to ban high-capacity ammunition magazines.”

The tragedy’s impact was felt on Wall Street when stocks of some gun companies also fell Tuesday after a private investment firm, Cerberus Capital Management, announced this week it will sell its stake of Freedom Group, a gunmaker that manufactures one of the guns used in Friday’s shooting.

“It is apparent that the Sandy Hook tragedy was a watershed event that has raised the national debate on gun control to an unprecedented level,” the company said in a statement.

Cerberus made its move reportedly under pressure from California Treasurer Bill Lockyer, who raised concerns about a public employee pension fund invested in the company, and the California State Teachers’ Retirement System. The teachers fund said that after the shooting its “investment staff immediately began reviewing our investments in private equity funds managed by Cerberus,” of the investment in the Freedom Group.

Dick’s Sporting Goods pulled some sporting rifles temporarily from the shelves of its stores, which include one in Paramus and a dozen others in New Jersey. The business said that it had “suspended the sale of modern sporting rifles” at all its stores “out of respect for the victims and their families, during this time of national mourning.”

Meanwhile, some New Jersey stores and police departments fielded a number of calls from prospective gun buyers who sought information on how to obtain legal firearms before additional gun legislation becomes law.

“It’s hard to say what people’s motivations are, but in terms of the inquiries that I’ve gotten in the past several days I would say it’s most associated with the incident that occurred in Connecticut more than anything else,” said West Milford police Lt. John Matarese.

Handguns and shotguns were flying off the shelves in Oregon, Virginia and Texas, retailers reported earlier this week. But in New Jersey, where state laws require prior approvals to purchase a firearm, the impact on local sales will take weeks or months to determine.

“It takes time to get a gun in New Jersey, and it’s not easy,” said Ron Granito, owner of Bergen Sporting Goods in Ridgefield. “Some people think they can just come in and buy a gun, but it’s not that way.”

The Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence, a national non-profit that backs gun legislation, ranked New Jersey as having the second-toughest gun laws in the country in an analysis of several firearm policies in all 50 states. The Garden State trailed only California in the rankings, which were published in “Gun Laws Matter 2012: Understanding the Link Between Weak Laws and Gun Violence.”

Neighboring New York ranked sixth, while Connecticut and Pennsylvania came in fourth and 13th place, respectively.

The owner of Bob Lounsbury Sporting Goods in Middletown, N.Y., said there has been a rush on semi-automatic AR-15 guns that are made to comply with the state’s assault weapons ban because people are concerned about a broader ban and that they won’t be available soon.

“They want to buy them before the ban,” said Bob Lounsbury.

But, as of Tuesday, he said he has none to sell and can’t even get them from distributors.

He said he would not sell to a Garden State resident unless they have a New Jersey state firearms identification card.

To comply with New York law, AR-15 rifles can’t be sold with clips of more than 10 rounds, he said. He said larger-capacity clips would fit into the guns but “would be illegal.” New Jersey law limits clips to 15 rounds.

A Passaic County antique firearms dealer, who asked not to be identified, said he received about 30 calls Tuesday from people seeking to purchase .223-caliber bullets, which are used in AR-15 rifles, because “they figure they won’t be making it anymore.” He said he told them he doesn’t carry that kind of ammunition.

Officers in some North Jersey police departments, including Maywood, Fairview and Franklin Lakes, said they haven’t seen an uptick in applications for handgun purchase permits and firearm identification cards, which are needed to purchase the handguns and rifles, since the most recent shooting.

But overall, applications have increased in the past year, said Matarese, the West Milford officer. The township, he said, processed 418 applications in 2011, and this year, 627 so far.

The Lyndhurst Police Department also saw a jump in purchase permit applications, which went from 124 in 2011 to 163 so far, said Capt. John Valente.

Staff Writer Dave Sheingold contributed to this article, which contains material from The Associated Press and Bloomberg News.